CosBlog #22: FF XIII Launch Edition

To celebrate the launch of Final Fantasy XIII, this week's CosBlog features a dedicated group of Final Fantasy fans who channeled their passion for the franchise into amazing costumes. Check out our interviews with several of the cosplayers and a slew of images below. Enjoy!

Lightning by RainerTachibanaWho: The Character"Codename Lightning, main character of the flagship title of the Fabula Nova Crystallis compilation, Final Fantasy XIII."

Why: The Decision"I've always been a very big fan of Final Fantasy since I was a very young kid. My first title was FFVII, and I've been following the series through each installment since then.

"Lightning is a very unique character. She is strong-willed, resolute, relentless and unforgiving, and yet she has a soft, kindhearted aspect to her personality that's not apparent from the outset. All in all, she is a very real character, and one that people can easily relate to. I know I could. I was drawn to her character the moment I watched an early trailer, and when I watched the last few trailer releases, I was totally won over.

"Also, it helps that she has pink hair, which I love. Hahaha."

What: The Process"I planned this cosplay as far back as 2007, but I didn't actually start on it till the second half of 2009, when I decided to debut it at an end-of-year event in Singapore together with my FFXIII teammates.

"The base of the costume was made by my personal tailor who did an awesome job, and I added detailing and crafted the accessories and props. We used a one-way stretch in a lovely ivory shade for the jacket, and a dark sandy color of the same fabric for the lining. Picked a red spandex for the cape which I felt was a good decision because it flowed and flipped in the wind beautifully. I was eyeing suede for the skirt but because there wasn't a suitable color, I went for a heavy drill instead. The leg pouch was red pleather which I spent a long time drafting and stitching by hand and gluing and taking apart and redoing. It caused me some amount of difficulty because I'd not made such a complicated pouch before and also, I'm hopeless at handstitching. The cuffs around the bicep were cut from pig's leather, and worn via velcro closure. Boots were also pleather, which were dyed from their original color to a more accurate shade of brown, and silver straps were leather belts sprayed metallic. Pauldron was craft foam, primed and painted. The pendant, worn on a simple silver chain, was also cut from foam, handpainted and glossed.

"Blaze Edge, Lightning's sword, I cut and sanded from light basswood, and the components pieced together using hotglue. I added an additional layer of detailing using craft foam and small stainless steel components. The total time taken was probably 60 - 80 hours, spent on and off."Where and When: The Debut"Lightning was debuted at EOY'09, an annual event in Singapore. The photoshoot was held half at the Singapore Changi Airport T3, and half at the Singapore Expo. We picked these locations because of the metallic structures and super-modern feel that is prevalent in Cocoon, the floating city of FFXIII."Links: The Cosplayer"I run a personal cosplay blog - which I promise to update more regularly. And more of my works can be viewed at my gallery on DeviantArt."

The Gallery

K-iricos as Hope Estheim

Who: The Character"Hope Estheim from Final Fantasy XIII. I did the one and only default costume."

Why: The Decision"I chose Hope because of the fact that I had greater confidence portraying the look of his as compared to the originally plan of Vanille. Second will be the resemblance in terms of height (short). I got very much attracted to the series because of the heavy influence from Rainer Tachibana when she first showed me the series. I fell in love with the character designs instantly."

What: The Process"As for costume making, I left most details for my tailor to complete. All I did was to add on details on the scarf and did little alteration to the pants. Final costs were around 100 bucks or less since it was tailored. Most difficult task should be the painting and modifying of my boots to get the color as accurate as possible. The end results were somewhat satisfying though there are still lots to improve.I also want to mention that the Hope wig belongs to Rainer, who lent it to me for the shoot."Where and When: The Debut"First debut of the costume was during the end of year event in 2009 in Singapore. Photo shoot was held at the airport although we got chased away few minutes after we started. Then we went off to the Expo. Location was chosen by Rainer Tachibana as she is more familiarized with the series and is more experienced."Links: The CosplayerDeviantArt and Cure

The
Gallery

Jesuke as Snow VilliersWho: The Character"The character is Snow Villiers from Final Fantasy XIII"

Why: The Decision"I was kinda attracted to the series because of the visual effects and the design concept of the environment and my friend Shizuka asked me whether I’m interested in doing Snow. Well, it was quite challenging, but worth the try!"

What: The Process"It took awhile, like three days or so as I already started the costume quite long ago but I stopped for awhile. After that they say they want to cosplay in an event which was like 6 days to go and I try to finish it up as soon as possible and I have done it ^^. Material wise is of course cloth, craft form, paints, buckers, zips, aluminum…cost overall was below $60. The difficult task I think was the inner shirt because there are two types of different color cloth had to sew together and of course the necklace because had to make the necklace from scratch."

Where and When: The Debut"It's in Singapore event which held on national library during 2009, called End-of-year event. Photoshoot is somewhere in airport and Singapore EXPO (which has very nice lighting). Because FF mostly is futuristic feel and more on glass, white scenery so we tend to choose Singapore expo as the place was very suitable for it."